And the final chapter! I know everyone's surprised, but this is quite a chapter packed with everything, so let's see where things take us!

And yes that was very much a Shaggy Dog reference, not a bad movie, if cheesy to the max.

I've been loving the enthusiasm and encouragement for this, I hope everyone enjoys!

Now, here we go!

The next day, the morning begun with a surprise.

Well, a surprise for everyone except for Emma.

The phone rang and Regina went to answer it. "Ms. Blanchard, what a wonderful surprise. Or should I say: Mayor Blanchard, what can I do for you?" Regina greeted, sarcasm dripping from her voice.

From the other end of the line, Mary Margaret took a deep breath and responded, "Regina, I believe in second chances, and although you have had plenty of second chances in your colourful life, someone has come petitioning for you to have one more chance to be pardoned. And to be honest, I agree with them. So I am granting it to you. All has been pardoned. The town has been informed via the Mirror, and you are once more a free citizen of Storybrooke, as long as you continue to adhere to the laws, as well as attend a weekly session with Archie for a year. On Monday, we can see about transferring the Mayoral duties back to you."

Regina didn't respond for a moment, stunned.

Henry's eyebrows raised. "Mom?"

"W-who petitioned?" Regina asked, after she dislodged the lump in her throat.

"They requested to be anonymous, but I have faith in them. Have a good day Regina!" Mary Margaret hung up with a sincerely cheery note.

"Mom?" Henry repeated. "What happened?"

"I've been pardoned," she whispered, legs weak. "I'm...free."

"That's great mom!" he grinned, getting down from his seat to engulf her in a hug.

Emma barked happily and jumped up onto two legs to give Regina a lick on her cheek. She missed her mark and ended up reaching her elbow, but Regina still laughed. This worked perfect, and she was glad her mother accepted her petition, She had a plan. It was Friday; this evening, she would be calling Regina to have a date with her, and due to her new free status, she could take her out to dine somewhere nice. If Regina agreed of course.

During the rest of the day, she just kept Regina company, the latter definitely in a better mood than Emma had ever seen during her stay. It was contagious really, she never figured such news could make her so happy. But she supposed that for this Regina, it meant things were finally working out for her, and she could have a life finally without persecution.

"Slow down ma, I can't run that fast!" Henry laughed, chasing after her. They were headed for the inn, where Emma would make her call. She had let Henry know last night via text, and he had agreed with a wide grin and a hug this morning.

She ran down the sidewalk, glancing every now and then to see Henry following her, his laugh reaching her ears. Then the laughing stopped.

She stopped and turned with a curious frown, and saw Jefferson standing in front of Henry, wearing a long jacket and his famous top hat.

"Good afternoon Henry, I was wondering if you wouldn't mind accompanying me, peacefully."

Henry looked confused. "Why?"

Jefferson sighed, and Emma inched closer, quiet. "Because I don't want to have to hurt you. You see, Paige has taken a shining to you, so unfortunately, if I am to remain in her graces I wouldn't want to hurt you."

With slow and careful steps, Henry began backing away. But still Jefferson advanced. Making her presence known, Emma let out a low growl.

Not even turning around, Jefferson drew a gun from his jacket, and pointed it at Henry, and she heard him take the safety off. "Begone mutt, lest you want this boy to wind up missing a limb."

"You said you wouldn't hurt me," Henry countered, a tinge of fear in his voice.

Jefferson made a hum of agreement. "That I did, but I am willing to sacrifice that if I get what I want in the end."

Emma tried to transform into her human form, she didn't care if she was naked in the middle of a road or that Henry saw her, her maternal instincts kicked in.

But nothing happened.

"Now come along Henry, your dog looks like its going into a seizure."

In a last ditch attempt, she bit Jefferson's calf and kept hold.

"Agh! You mangy mutt, do you want me to kill this boy? Do you?!" Jefferson yelled, grabbing a rough hold of Henry's arm and shaking him.

Henry let out a sound of discomfort that tore at Emma's heart. She had no recourse but to let go.

"Good, at least it's intelligent. Now come along boy."

Emma knew that right now, there was only one person who could help her.

Regina looked up from where she was looking herself in the mirror. Tomorrow, she had been planning on going out into the town, and she wanted to do it in style. But she heard barking, and paused.

Going up to the window, she saw that basically the entire street was also looking as a dog ran down Mifflin. Regina recognized Princess, and with a pang, saw that she wasn't accompanied by Henry.

Her hear in her throat, she ran out of her room and downstairs, opening the door just in time for Princess to tumble through, barking like mad.

"Princess, what's wrong? Where's Henry?!"

But Princess could only bark nonstop, sounding a bit on the peculiar side. She huffed.

"Princess!" The dog stopped barking. "Let me try a locating spell."

She reached into the closet and pulled out one of his jackets, waving her hand over it. Nothing happened.

"Why isn't this working? Unless...Princess, did a magic user take him?" Regina asked, turning to the dog.

Emma barked. Jefferson used magical objects but had no magic of his own as far as she knew. She tried to once more change her appearance, and found herself shifting.

Regina watched in fascination as Princess began to change. Within seconds, where Princess had been, was a kneeling woman. Blonde and quite naked. "Emma?"

"We don't have time," Emma said, standing up. "Jefferson took Henry, I'm not sure why, but he did. He held him at gunpoint and forced Henry to go. I tried to stop him but I couldn't shift and he threatened to hurt Henry."

The brunette was having a hard time processing anything with Emma's state of undress. She felt so rattled. "You were Princess this entire time..."

"Regina, focus, Jefferson took Henry." Emma snapped her fingers to get Regina out of her trance. She suddenly felt a really big need to scratch her head, with her foot.

"Right, yes, we have to go, we- Emma, what are you doing?"

Emma had sat down in the foyer and contorted herself to try and scratch her head with her foot, and when that wasn't having the desired effect, she shifted herself back into a dog, and let out a happy murmur at finally being able to scratch that itch.

"Emma!" Emma snapped her head to Regina and cursed. How did her mind get so warped? It was clearly a side effect of the potion, and they were getting stronger. Her mind wanted to remain a dog, but she had to focus, Henry's life was in danger.

She let out a bark and Regina sighed. "After this is done, I will want a very detailed explanation. Now, let's go get our son back."

With yet another bark, Regina used her magic to transport them to Jefferson's house.

They landed in front of the driveway, and together, walked up the steps to the front door, where Regina knocked, and they waited.

Within seconds, Jefferson opened the door with a wide grin on his face. "Regina Mills! Well aren't you a sight for sore eyes. I heard you were being pardoned, congratulations. What can I do for you?"

Emma growled at him, and Regina narrowed her eyes. "I want my son back."

Jefferson looked puzzled. "I'm sorry, but this is not Storybrooke Elementary."

"Cut the crap Hatter, either you tell me where Henry is or-"

"Relax!" Jefferson let out a hearty laugh, hands up placatingly. He turned to Emma and said, "You've got quite a stingy owner. All threats and demands."

Without another word, he swivelled around and went inside the house, a clear limp from Emma's earlier bite, clearly wordlessly inviting him to follow him.

When Regina walked inside, she felt a weird sensation go through her body, it was familiar, but she couldn't quite place what that feeling was. With Emma in tow, they went after Jefferson, ending up in a living room. For Emma, this brought on a sense of deja-vu to when she had been kept prisoner while the curse had been active.

Henry was sitting in a wooden chair, tied to the back of the chair. "Mom!" Henry exclaimed, a smile on his face.

Regina gave him a reassuring smile before turning to Jefferson. "Let him go or-"

"Or else you'll do something horrible to me, yes yes I know the schtick." Jefferson let out a hollow laugh. "But I think you'll find that your methods are highly limited."

Eyes widening, Regina realized what that feeling was. Her magic was gone. She tried to test out her magic, and nothing. Emma let out a whimper, and Regina glanced at her momentarily, and then she looked at Henry.

"Well, now that the threats are all out of the way, let's have a sit, shall we?" Jefferson said, taking a seat on the sofa, and gesturing for Regina to take the armchair.

With a mistrusting look towards the armchair, she went to sit beside Jefferson on the other side of the sofa. They were facing each other, and with Regina's placement, Jefferson wasn't looking at Henry. Emma got an idea and moved to sit beside Henry.

"What do you want?" Regina snapped.

Jefferson reached for the copy of the Daily Mirror, showing the big news of Regina's pardon. "This."

Regina frowned. "I don't understand."

"Don't you!?" Jefferson demanded, voice louder. Then he took a deep breath and smile at Regina. "As a parent, I'm sure you can understand the importance of a child's safety, yes? Of having them with you. Well guess what, I don't have any rights to my child, because of your curse."

Regina was impassive as she looked at him. "Yes I was well-aware of that. And the curse is broken, why won't you go and contest it?"

"Do you honestly think me that stupid to think I haven't tried that already?" he growled. "I have tried, and I was turned away because Paige's adopted parents deemed me unstable. I have even tried to settle for visitation rights, but nothing! And yet the great and Evil Queen gets to have her whelp with her despite all her crimes. And now you're pardoned on top of all of that! So, a child for a child, Regina."

He withdrew his pistol from his jacket, and pointed it to where he knew Henry was sitting. "You find a way to get my child back, or your child gets it."

Regina tilted her head. "What child?"

Jefferson spluttered. "What child?! This one!"

However, when Jefferson turned, the chair was empty. "What in the world?!"

Regina stood up and made a show of straightening her skirt. "If there's nothing else..."

"Yes there is!" he screamed, now pointing the gun at her. "Henry! If you don't return right now, your mother dies!"

Nothing happened, but then he saw Regina nod. Before he could process anything, something was biting his other calf, hard. "AH!"

Regina rushed forward to grab the gun from his hand, and was successful, his grip much looser because of the pain. Once he was disarmed, Regina yelled, "Run!"

Henry, who had been hidden behind the couch, got up and rushed towards the door, with Regina following him, and Emma trailing behind them.

They bounded out of the door, and the minute they were outside of his property, Regina tried to see if her magic had returned.

It had, but it wasn't enough to get them away. They heard Jefferson chase after them, so Regina just yelled out to Henry, "Head to the Sheriff's station!"

They made it there soon enough, yelling and calling for David, and he scrambled out of his desk when he heard the commotion. He frowned when he saw that Henry, Regina, and Emma the dog were out of breath and panting by the door. "What in the world happened to you guys?"

"Jefferson kidnapped Henry and we managed to escape. He was chasing us, but I think he managed to figure out where we were going," Regina explained, with a surprisingly incredible air of calm for someone who just ran all the way there on heels.

"Okay, stay put, I'll catch him." He pointed to the bullpen where they could wait.

"You should get backup, he has a gun," Regina added, an arm around Henry's shoulder, instinctively protecting him.

He nodded, and when he got out, he called Mary Margaret. She in turn brought Ruby, and the three of them went hunting for Jefferson.

Meanwhile, in the station, Henry was sitting in an empty desk chair, Emma's head resting on his knees.

"So, who wants to explain to me what's going on here?" Regina asked, sitting on the desk.

Henry looked confused at the question. "What do you mean?"

Regina gestured to the dog he was petting. "I know that's Emma."

Emma didn't react for her part, it was like she wasn't even listening.

"Ma?" Henry asked, looking at her as well.

Nothing.

"Princess?" Regina tried, and Emma shot up excitedly, tongue wagging, looking at her expectantly. "Okay, very funny Emma, you don't think you're actually going to fool me into forgetting, are you?"

But where Emma previously would have responded with a bark, she merely tilted her head curiously.

"Do you think something's wrong?" Henry asked.

Regina would wager yes, but she disn't have the full context of why Emma was a dog in the first place. A lot of things did make more sense now, like Princess' insistence on playing with her and getting her out of that house, but there were plenty of new questions too.

Just then, David came in with Jefferson in tow, flanked by Mary Margaret and Ruby.

"I will have my revenge!" Jefferson yelled.

"Yeah yeah," David murmured, locking him up in a cell. They walked out of the bullpen and spilled out into the hallway so they could talk without Jefferson's presence.

Regina was the first to speak. "Wonderful, now that the crisis is averted, can someone explain what is going on with Emma?"

Mary Margaret innocently responded, "What's wrong with her?"

"I know she's the dog, but why the hell is she a dog in the first place?" Regina responded tersely, gesturing to the dog in their midst, who seemed more interested in sniffing everyone's shoes than the conversation.

Ruby frowned, having been looking at Emma in confusion. "She didn't tell you?"

Henry piped up, "I don't think she can. Watch."

He walked to down the hallway a few feet away, Emma following after him. "Ma, stop." Nothing. "Princess, stay."

The dog paused her movements and sat on her haunches, looking at him expectantly.

Ruby cursed, getting all three adults to give her disapproving looks. Then she clarified, "The side effects have gotten worse; we have to go to Belle. I'll have her meet us in the Inn, where the book is."

Regina huffed. "Great, and while we wait for her, you can fill me in on this madness."

And so when they were all sitting in the Inn's lobby, Ruby and the Charmings explained, with some input from Henry. They told Regina of how Emma had been worried about her, and how she tried to innocently send the flowers as a peace offering so they could resume their friendship, but Ruby's machinations with Belle's help sent that plan up in smoke.

"Well, that explains the flowers" Regina said, though she felt a small pang at the thought that maybe Emma didn't like her that way after all. But she couldn't focus on that right now. "And how does turning into a dog become the logical next step?"

Mary Margaret fielded that one, citing Emma's insecurities. "She felt that that was her only other solution, and a way to be useful. She cares a lot about you, Regina."

"But this is a random potion she found in a book, and clearly the effects were getting worse the more time she spends as a dog. And this was the final step. It's quite possible that she has forgotten she was a human in the first place," Ruby added.

Belle then arrived, and from the room, they took out the book in question. Regina asked to see it and she hummed as she pored over the text.

Henry meanwhile turned to Ruby. "Can't you talk to her as a wolf?"

Ruby shook her head. "Even though we're both sorta from the canine family, if Emma is in full dog-mode, then a wolf will freak her out. She won't remember who I am and instinct will kick in. She'll run for the hills and the last thing we want is to go chasing after her."

Regina scoffed. "This is highly unstable magic, no wonder it went so wrong. Where did you make the potion? I'll correct this."

And so Regina got to work, and no one commented on how Emma naturally veered to be at her side or the way that Regina smiled when she felt Emma beside her.

A few hours later, and the potion was ready. "Alright Princess, open up."

Ruby had enough sense to throw a comforter over the dog's shoulders and rush everyone out, leaving Regina alone with Emma.

The former tilted the vial into Emma's mouth and waited.

After a few minutes of nothing happening, Emma began to shift, and then, she was back to her human self, wrapping the comforter closer against herself. "What...what happened?"

Regina sat down on a chair and smiled. "You tell me. What's the last thing you remember?"

Emma bit her lip as she focused. "We were in Jefferson's house. He had Henry and you were talking to him and I chewed the rope to free Henry and got him to hide. Then Jefferson was threatening you and I bit him hard. Then we ran and that's the last thing I remember. How long ago was that?"

"Just a few hours ago. Your father caught Jefferson and I prepared an antidote, as you went full dog on us."

Emma cringed and sheepishly said, "My bad."

Regina dismissed it. "Not a problem. It was quite easy. It was a cheap magic book, it wasn't supposed to have worked out as well as it did, and in fact, I'm surprised it did."

"I knew that eyeball was fishy," Emma quipped, and grinned when Regina chuckled a bit at that.

Then she grew serious. "We should probably talk."

Emma nodded. "Can I change first? I don't fancy doing this naked with only a comforter on."

Regina agreed. "I will go tell everyone the potion worked, and when you're done, just leave the door open."

Ten minutes later, they were back, Regina once more sitting on the chair, and Emma had taken a seat on the edge of the bed.

"So..." Emma said, smiling tersely.

"Relax, I won't yell," Regina said with an easy smile. "I do want to know about this plan of yours. Everyone did a good job of explaining the flowers and you feeling out of place, even about me looking sad, but I know there's something more."

Emma took a deep breath. "Henry gave me reports on you and it made me feel so helpless that I couldn't do anything for you. You deserve a second chance Regina, no matter how many of those second chances you've already have."

"You petitioned for my pardon," Regina realized.

Emma nodded. "I just wanted to be your friend, like we had started to become before...well, before everything went to hell. So I settled for the next best thing, a dog is a man's best friend, so I figure that it could be yours too."

Regina smiled, and then looked away as she said. "So just friends then? The flowers were a mistake?"

Making a face, Emma shook her head. "No, the message was genuine, I just hadn't planned on making it that way. I wanted to be your friend first before delving into the romance department. In fact, I was going to call you today when Jefferson showed up."

"But we spoke yesterday."

Emma flinched and began to wring her hands. "And it ended disastrously, as I know you felt. But seeing you last night gave me the courage to try and ask you out. To at least try to show you I was interested, but I understand if you were just looking for friends."

Regina shook her head and reached out to take Emma's hands in her own. "I think you and I both know we want something more. So how about we see where this goes?"

"Sounds like a plan," Emma grinned.

One Year Later

Emma parked her car in the driveway and gathered her stuff before getting out of the car and going up the walkway to what was now her home. Regina had been insistent that she move in not even a month after they started dating, claiming she had already been living there for a week while she was Princess, so there was no use in waiting.

Ruby had called it u-hailing and even today she wouldn't let up with it.

She walked inside and hung up her jacket, calling out for her girlfriend. "Regina? You home?"

"Yes dear, in the kitchen." It was their one year anniversary, and Regina was making a special meal. Emma meanwhile, hid her present behind her, hoping it would cooperate.

"Happy one year anniversary Regina," Emma said, going to greet her with a kiss.

"Yelp!"

"Emma? What was that?" Regina asked, trying to look behind her girlfriend.

Emma shrugged evasively. "No idea. What was what?"

Unfortunately, her gift was squirming in her hold, and Emma had no choice but to hold it out in front of her. It was a golden retriever puppy, with a red bow around its neck.

"So apparently, Mr Peterson's retriever had kids, and David got me a discount. We still have to finish the paperwork tomorrow, since I figured we could get her a fitting name together."

Regina looked enchanted with the new puppy, taking her into her arms. "If you think I am naming her Princess, you are sorely mistaken. You are the princess here, and I am in no way taking that mantle from you."

Emma beamed as Regina studied the new puppy carefully. After her incident, she had nearly gone back to normal. There was one side effect that she had never been able to shake off, and that was belly rubs, but Regina never said no to a belly rub, and happily obliged.

"So, anything happen while I was away?" Emma asked.

"Your parents called to say that they want to invite us to dinner on Friday, and wouldn't take no for an answer," Regina grinned, and Emma affectionately rolled her eyes. They never did take no for an answer.

Thankfully, her parents had eased up on the parenting overload, and David demoted himself to a part-time Deputy. Emma had insisted it wasn't necessary, but he knew that this town didn't have nearly enough crime to warrant two deputies, and when they did have some sort of chaos, it was all hands on deck so his position could very well be a part-time one, and he had been missing the animal shelter.

Henry was excited for his moms to be dating, though he jokingly made both women promise to not break the other's hearts, or else. It was in those moments he channeled Regina quite perfectly.

"I'm sure Henry will be able to think up of a name," Emma said.

"Indeed, we can ask him when he comes back from school," Regina agreed, letting the puppy down so she could explore the house.

"Yep, and I think we have time before he comes back, right?" Emma asked, smirking.

Regina rolled her eyes. "Subtlety was never your strong suit, dear."

Emma groaned. "Oh come on, I've gotten better!"

"Says the woman who wanted to train doves to deliver a message for me on Valentine's Day," Regina countered.

"It was supposed to be romantic," Emma pouted.

"And it was, plus you know I'm an expert at doing things over the top," she added. "It's a quality I quite admire about you, because you manage to always make it adorable."

"Just that?" Emma asked, wrapping her arms around Regina's waist.

Feigning as if she was thinking, Regina linked her arms around Emma's neck. "Well I can think of some others."

Rather than answer, their lips met in a sweet kiss that quickly deepened and promised something more to come quite soon.

And that was that!

A nice and fluffy story with hijinks. I hope it had a satisfactory ending for everyone! I didn't spend much time on the drama because I figured that this story was meant to be on the lighter side and not focus so much on the doom and gloom.

Now, I have to finish my other Big Bang story, as well as getting back to my regular stories, which have been seriously neglected.

I'd love to know your thoughts about this!